Samuel Morin’s Chance is Closing

Samuel Morin has seen a lot of defensemen pass him over the years. Drafted in the first round of the 2013 Draft, Morin was the first link in the defensive rebuild that’s still taking place for the Philadelphia Flyers.

Shayne Gostisbehere, who was drafted in the third round of the 2012 Draft, was the first to pass Morin on the depth chart by the fall of 2014. Since then, blueliners Ivan Provorov, Travis Sanheim, and Robert Hagg have all graduated from prospects to full-time NHL regulars.

This season, Philippe Myers is another rearguard prospect that looks like he’s ready for the NHL.

Of course, if Morin didn’t have such serious injuries over the last two seasons, including a torn ACL last May, he might be an NHLer. But bad luck has set him back and despite nearing his return from injury, he might not play an NHL game at all this season.

His chances of playing this year are closing, and so might be the one with the Flyers.

Gostisbehere may have been the first NHL regular blueliner from the Philly prospect pool, but his draft day selection wasn’t one that brought a ton of attention. As a small defenseman drafted in the third round, no one envisioned him becoming the player he is today in 2012.

Morin never had that unassuming fortune. The Flyers took him way too early in the 2013 draft at 11th overall. Some players that went after him: Max Domi at 12, Josh Morrisey at 13, and Ryan Pulock at 15.

Morin was expected to go in the first round, after all, he had what most scouts and general managers desired from a defenseman: size, snarl, and decent skating ability. Unfortunately, that raised expectations.

But when Morin joined the Lehigh Valley Phantoms in 2015-16, expectations were tempered by most fans. Although the 6-foot-6 defender maybe wasn’t a replica of Chris Pronger, he could be a solid third-pairing defensive defenseman.

In 2016-17, the 23-year-old played in one of the final regular season games for the Flyers and didn’t look out of place. Morin had a decent training camp in 2017-18 but lost out to Sanheim and Hagg — another two defenders that had passed him — for one of the final spots.

Morin ended up playing two games for the Flyers, but injuries throughout the year kept him to just 18 games with the Phantoms and the torn ACL ended his season early.

Which brings us to today. Morin has two more years left on his deal, though it was done by the old regime under GM Ron Hextall, and depending on how the Flyers fare in the playoff race, might not see NHL ice this season (he did play two games with the Phantoms on a conditioning stint).

However, there is good news. Hagg fills a defensive role with the team but has not looked great this season — especially in the second half. However, there’s nothing that shows the team feels the same way. The Swede has played every game and his minutes have never suffered.

But the same can’t be said for veteran Andrew MacDonald. He’s been a healthy scratch of late and has averaged 10:36 of ice time in the last three games that he has played.

If the team moves on from MacDonald and/or Hagg, that’s two blueliners the team has in defensive roles. Morin is a natural fit for that hole that could be created.

This season might be out of Morin’s hands, but if he does play or is still in Philadelphia next year, it will be up to him to not let any more defensemen pass him.